Basketball Terminal

Chapter 79 Other stalls
Levi reappeared in the Nets' starting lineup, this time playing power forward alongside DeAndre Jordan. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were sidelined. Joe Harris returned to his preferred shooting guard position, James Harden moved to point guard, and Bruce Brown moved to small forward.

For Harden, tonight will be another familiar one-man show.

The Dallas Mavericks' white jerseys stood out against the predominantly black Barclays Center. Historically, the NBA has always had home teams wear light-colored jerseys and visiting teams wear dark-colored ones. However, in the last two years, the NBA has allowed teams to choose their own color scheme, with home teams able to opt for either. Many teams have started wearing dark jerseys at home, while visiting teams wear lighter ones, a sight that older fans find quite unusual.

The TV broadcast first showed Harden, then Doncic, who was smiling broadly and waving happily with Harden, completely unaware of what had happened that night.

This was his third season in the league. At 21, he was an absolute basketball prodigy, and the NBA seemed like a piece of cake for him. He scored 21 points in his rookie season, 28 points per game in his sophomore year, and racked up 31 points per game in the playoffs. He was only 20 years old that year.

本赛季他的状态一如既往的稳定，得分还是那样简单、平稳。进入2月份，他的表现一路走高，2月6号对阵勇士42分，12号对阵鹈鹕46分，14号对阵开拓者44分，23号对阵凯尔特人31分10助攻。3月份开启东部客场之旅，对阵魔术33分10助攻9篮板准三双。

Importantly, he won most of these games, and his individual performance was closely related to the team's wins and losses. High scores can lead to wins, which shows that he is not the kind of player who pads his stats and harms the team.

How to defend Doncic is the number one challenge for any team facing the Mavericks, and the Nets, after much research, have concluded that they have virtually no solutions. This is because the Nets' perimeter defensive resources are limited; Kyrie Irving, a master of guarding smaller players, is unavailable, and relying on Harden to defend him is a waste of time.

It's the regular season, and a matchup between teams from the East and West. These two teams won't meet in the playoffs, except for the Finals. Therefore, specific strategies or not are irrelevant; they'll play as a normal encounter. Li Wei starting isn't specifically to counter Doncic; with Irving injured, Li Wei is a more reliable choice, at least his rebounding is guaranteed.

Steve Nash also had another consideration: he wanted to see if Levi could play a greater role on offense to relieve Harden's offensive pressure. Nash had thought of this even during Levi's evaluation period; his mind was more focused on offense—a natural instinct of an offensive mastermind.

So, at the start of the game, Li Wei was matched up against Porzingis on the defensive end. This unicorn center from Latvia is 2.21 meters tall with an amazing wingspan. When he stands under the basket and raises his arm, Li Wei can only smell his armpit.

The first basket of the game saw Porzingis receive the ball in the low post on the left, back down Levi, turn and shoot, scoring the first point of the game. Levi couldn't do anything about that; he was just too tall.

Against a unicorn player like this, you need to wear him down, challenge him, and disrupt his offensive rhythm throughout the game. When he starts strong, it's difficult to shut him down on defense in a single instance. Porzingis wasn't the Nets' defensive focus tonight; statistically, the Nets would love for him to handle the ball more.

Because Porzingis' offense is disconnected from the Mavericks' overall offense, when he's on the court and taking numerous isolation plays, the Mavericks only score 109 points per 100 possessions, a very low number in this offensive-minded era. When he's off the court, with Doncic as the core, the Mavericks score 123 points per 100 possessions, a significant difference.

The Mavericks initially traded Porzingis hoping he could integrate into Carlisle's offensive system like Nowitzki. However, it turns out there's only one Nowitzki, and not every tall, shooting European white center is a Nowitzki. Porzingis' playing style and function are vastly different from Nowitzki's.

The Nets' opening offense also relied on isolation plays. Harden faced off against Kleber one-on-one at the top of the arc, but his three-pointer after several dribbles missed. Li Wei circled around the baseline, tipped the ball over Finney-Smith's head, and then tipped it again, grabbing the offensive rebound and passing it out to reorganize the Nets' offense.

The Mavericks started with a 2-3 zone defense, a defensive strategy that Carlisle greatly favors. Since winning the championship in 2011, the zone defense has been the Mavericks' signature defensive weapon. Levi came out to set a screen for Harden, who went to the left and made a behind-the-back pass back to Levi. Levi received the ball at the top of the key and was about to shoot, but suddenly made a penetrating pass to Bruce Brown cutting to the basket.

Brown caught the ball, executed a twisting, evasive layup in mid-air, and scored two points. This play was in Doncic's wing area, where he was essentially unguarded. Like Harden, ball-handlers who dominate the offense tend to slack off defensively to some extent, as full-on defense is incredibly taxing.

Not every player can give their all on both ends of the court like Jordan. Moreover, Jordan had a lot of off-ball offense, and the number of possessions in a game was relatively small in that era. Nowadays, the ball-handlers are expending more and more energy on offense, while their defensive impact continues to weaken.

Li Wei's pass was beautiful; he and Bruce Brown had established a good understanding. This was something Nash could understand. He said to D'Antoni beside him, "That was a great pass; it's exactly what I wanted to see." D'Antoni nodded, thinking to himself, "This isn't your opening play, is it?"

The Mavericks' second possession again went to Porzingis for a one-on-one shot. He took a step inside at the corner, received the ball, turned, and shot. Levi started to guard his lower body, not giving Porzingis a sufficient opportunity to jump, and Joe Harris also came over to interfere, so the shot missed.

But Porzingis is genuinely tall. He drove to the basket and grabbed the offensive rebound before DeAndre Jordan could get there. Li Wei stuck to Porzingis, not giving him a chance to power up. Against such a tall player, interfering with his hands is useless; you have to use your lower body to disrupt his overall power.

With no chance to put back in the basket, Porzingis passed the ball to a teammate on the wing. One ran out to the outside, while the other passed to the baseline. The ball and player missed each other, went out of bounds, and resulted in a turnover.

Porzingis and his teammates shrugged, while Kleber shrugged as well, showing no understanding between them.

Watching from the sidelines, Donnie Nelson was visibly agitated. He increasingly realized that acquiring Kristaps Porzingis was a huge mistake, and this mistake was destroying his Mavericks general manager career. Since joining the Mavericks from the Knicks, Porzingis' offensive efficiency had remained consistently low. As a tall center, his field goal percentage was consistently below 50%, and his three-point percentage was also poor. This wasn't the key issue; low efficiency could be addressed by playing less, integrating more into the game's structure, and utilizing his height to contribute on defense and rebounds.

But Porzingis has a strong sense of pride; he sees himself as the offensive core in the paint, and low-post plays need to be built around him. To satisfy his pride, Carlisle gives Porzingis several opportunities to post up and score in the low post each game, as seen in the first two plays of the game.

However, in today's era, low-post offense has proven to be extremely inefficient, not only in terms of scoring efficiency but also in its inability to drive the overall offense. The days when a center would receive the ball in the low post, allowing the opponent to collapse and double-team him, and then score from all sides with an inside-out play are long gone.

More often than not, Porzingis receives the ball in the low post, and the opponent mostly ignores him, allowing him to isolate and attack. In five possessions, assuming a 50% shooting percentage, he scores 5 points. This level of offensive efficiency is easily achieved with a three-point-centric tactical setup.

Moreover, it's uncertain whether Porzingis can even achieve a 50% shooting percentage in low-post attacks. Coupled with the lack of tactical impact, this kind of attack, in the long run, is detrimental to the team. Unless you can deliver the decisive blow at crucial moments, in which case the value of your goal increases significantly.

But when it came to the crucial moments of the game, Porzingis couldn't even touch the ball; it was all Doncic doing the work. So, the only thing they could do was give him a couple of touches during the opening warm-ups to give him some fun—that was the Mavericks coaching staff's plan.

Li Wei once again executed a pick-and-roll with Harden at the high post, cutting to the perimeter to receive the ball and then passing it inside to Bruce Brown. This time, the Mavericks collapsed to the basket in time, and Porzingis blocked Brown, preventing him from shooting. He passed the ball out, but it was intercepted, resulting in a turnover.

Both sides exchanged gifts, each making one mistake.

Doncic finally started attacking with the ball. Porzingis, you can have a couple of easy baskets, now it's my turn to dominate the offense.

Bruce Brown was on defense, Porzingis came over to set a screen, and the Nets immediately switched. Li Wei was matched up against Doncic at the high post; this was their first head-to-head encounter of the game. There was no prelude, and Doncic treated it as just another regular offensive and defensive exchange.

He dribbled with his right hand and accelerated, not very fast, and walked close to Li Wei. With a smooth turn and a slight step back, he widened the distance between himself and Li Wei. He then dribbled with his left hand and took another step in, pulling back again. The speed was still not fast, but the movement was smooth and fluid, and he had a lot of physical contact, trying to push Li Wei away to create a shooting space.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get the ball to move; Li Wei remained very close to the ball, with his hands always very close to it.

Doncic finished his move, gathered the ball, and was about to shoot, but the space wasn't good, so he faked a shot, trying to draw a foul. First, Li Wei moved slightly, but didn't jump. Second, Li Wei moved slightly again, still didn't jump. He turned around, then turned back, and on the third try, I was really going to shoot! He moved slightly again, still didn't jump!

It all happened very quickly, in just two seconds. Doncic made three quick fakes, and Levi obligingly moved three times in return, but didn't jump. The two exchanged a deep look, and Doncic realized he couldn't fool him, so he passed the ball before it died.

Then he takes a step back, quickly receives the ball again, and shoots again. The guy closes in again, still using a fake move. In most cases, the defender will definitely fall for the fake move and jump, allowing Doncic to get the ball and break through for an easy layup.

But Doncic's shot was a fake, and Levi's block was also a fake. You want to pass? I'll shift my weight and stick to you, blocking your driving lane and forcing you towards the baseline. Doncic was bewildered. How come this guy doesn't fall for any fakes? And he can't push him away; his shoulder is a little sore!

Unconvinced, he forcefully turned around at the baseline, stood on one leg, and took a fadeaway jump shot. This time, I really shot!
Li Wei did indeed jump and block the shot, thwarting Doncic's attempt. Doncic's shot was incredibly difficult; there was no space, yet he forced it. After being blocked, Doncic fell backward and went out of bounds, but the referee didn't whistle. A good block; Li Wei didn't commit a foul.

Doncic shrugged at the referee, as if to say that Li Wei had just committed a foul.

"Stop sprawling out, it's time to go back to defense."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Bruce Brown had already rushed to the frontcourt and scored on a fast break layup. Alright, no need to go back to defense, let's keep attacking. Doncic was a little unconvinced; this number 0 was a rising star of Chinese descent, a very good defender. He'd heard Nelson mention him before the game, but hadn't paid much attention.

"That's pretty good, I need to take you down." Doncic thought to himself as he received a pass from his teammate and prepared to attack again, still unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

(End of this chapter)